Networking (Chapter 5) Flashcards
Describe LAN
Local Area Network
Connects computers in a single area
Describe WAN
Wide Area Network
Connects the LANs together across large geographical areas
Describe PAN/WPAN
Wireless Personal Area Network
Its just Bluetooth.
What is a defining characteristic of WPAN/Bluetooth?
Its temporary in nature. The networks are formed on an ad hoc basis, meaning two close devices can connect with eachother without a central communication standpoint.
Describe MAN
Metropolitan area network
Generally defined as a network that spans a city or large campus. Similar to WAN, but the difference comes down to who manages it. An IT dept. manages the MAN, and telecommunications the WAN.
Describe SAN
Storage area network
Holds nothing but networked storage devices. It wont have any clients or other servers on it.
What are the biggest advantages to having a SAN?
- Uses block storage (small, manageable, invidividual file chunks)
- They relieve network loads
- Offer fast data access (thanks to fiber)
- Easily expandable
Describe WLAN
Like a LAN but its wireless
May connect through WAPs (wireless access points)
What are the three major components of a network?
Servers
Clients/workstations
Resources
What does a server do?
Provides a link to resources
What is a dedicated server?
A server assigned to provide specific applications or services for the network and nothing else. They require less resources because of this.
What is a non-dedicated server?
A flexible server assigned to provide one or more network services AND local access. They can be used as a frontend workstation for an administrator to work with other applications or services.
An office workgroup server is an example.
How is a workstation defined?
A computer that accesses resources on the network
What is a resource?
Any item that can be used on a network
What is a NOS?
Network operating system
It controls the communication with resources and the flow of data across the network. It runs on the server (Windows Server 20xx).
What are the two resource access models?
Peer-to-peer
Client-server
What roles does a computer play in a peer-to-peer network?
It acts as both the service provider and requestor
What is peer-to-peer model good for?
Small and inexpensive networks
its also called a workgroup!
What is a defining characteristic of a peer-to-peer network?
They have no centralized administration or control
Lacks security
What is the client-server model?
A network that uses one or more dedicated, centralized servers. Administrative tasks and resource sharing occur from this point.
Requires more resources but provides security
Also called domains
What is a defining, beneficial characteristic of a server-based network?
Security is centrally administered
What is a domain controller?
The server that handles login request security
How does account authorization compare between P2P and C-S models?
P2P models require different credentials locally for each machine. C-S models store accounts on the server/domain, so users can login on any machine.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a bus topology?
+: Cheap, easy to install
-: Difficult to reconfigure, a break disables the entire network
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a star topology?
+: Cheap, easy, more resilient to single cable failure (bus was not)
-:More expensive than a bus
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a ring topology?
+: Efficient, easy to install
-: Difficult to reconfigure, expensive, poor fault tolerance
The only benefit is really that its easy and efficient
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a mesh topology?
+: Best fault tolerance
-: Extremely difficult to reconfigure, extremely expensive
What are the characteristics of a hybrid topology?
Combines the best features of all topologies though still somewhat complex
How does the bus topology work?
A single cable runs to every workstation and each computer shares the same data paths. Messages pass throught the trunk and each workstation checks to see if the message is addressed to it.
You would have to reroute cables if you want to add another computer.
How does the star topology work?
Branches each network device off a central device (hub or switch). This makes it easy to add and remove workstations. The hub is a single point of failure. If it breaks, the whole network goes down. If a workstation fails, the network stays up.
Resilient to cable failure
How does a mesh topology work?
Each device is connected to every other device. Its complex and requires a lot of cable, but gives the advatage of high fault tolerance. Routers can determine the best or alternate paths through the mesh.
They are often used to connect across WANs.
Identify and describe a co-axial cable
Contains a center conductor core made of copper surrounded in a plastic jacket and a braided shield
What connector connects a coaxial cable to a workstation?
BNC
What type of connector is on the end of a coaxial cable?
F-connector (or f-type)
Its used for cable TV.
Why is the twisted pair cable so popular?
Its flexible and inexpensive
What are the two types of twisted pair cable?
Shielded twisted pair (STP)
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
UTP is the most commonly used. CAT-7/8 use STP.
What is a Cat 1 cable able to transmit?
Voice only
Only contains two twisted pairs and is used by legacy phone systems. All other categories have four twisted pairs.
What category of cable made the jump from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps?
Cat 5e
Also has better interference protection with more twists per foot.
5e for extra!
Cat 6 cables transmit at speeds up to ____ Gbps up to a distance of ____ meters.
10 Gbps
55 m
Lowest grade of cable that should be used
What is the difference between a Cat 6 and 6a cable?
6a transmits 10 Gbps up to 100m instead of 55m (6)